September road trip: North Vancouver Island

 Like I said in the last post, this year we decided to a couple of local road trips instead of international trips. The second road trip was a two-week trip in September: North Vancouver Island, the ferry to Bella Coola, Tweedsmuir Park in the Chilcotins, Barkerville in the Cariboo, and back down to Vancouver.

This post is about the first part: North Vancouver Island. 

The first day was mostly driving to Port McNeil in the North Island. I love the remoteness of the North Island. Previously we've been there for kayaking trips, but now we'll have a couple of days to explore a bit more. We arrived at Port McNeil and checked into the Black Bear Resort, which is fairly basic looking but has nice facilities like an outdoor BBQ spot, sauna, and breakfast. While we were doing our BBQ for dinner there as a large group of people outside preparing for their kayaking trip, leaving from nearby Telegraph Cove the next day. 

The next day we got up early to catch the small ferry to Alert Bay. It is a small island that is mostly a native town, and the former site of an infamous residential school. We had been there before briefly, but just by walking, so we didn't have much chance to look around. This time we had a great local experience and we saw a lot. As it turns out, a couple of weeks before the trip, Celene was visiting friends in the Okanogan and met Amanda, who was visiting from Alert Bay. Since we were in the neighbourhood, she offered to meet us and show us around. Not only that, she invited us to a potlatch that happened to be going on that day. The potlatch was in the 'Big House' up the hill on the edge of town, and it was full of about a thousand people. It seemed most of the island was there, as well as many visitors. People from different nations on the coast all came to perform their dances. It was a great experience. The protocol was interesting: no getting up to leave during a dance. And there was apparently a fine if you fell down or caused any disturbance. After some time at the potlatch (it goes on for at least a couple of days) we went to Amanda's mothers place for a bite to eat, and she drove us around the island a bit.

On the ferry back we saw several otters in the water. It was hard to get a good picture by here goes. 

Back in Port McNeil, we had dinner at a craft brewery called Devils Bath Brewing. Love the name: Apparently named after a cenote (flooded sinkhole) that is outside of Port Alice in the North Island.  

The next day we drove a rough logging road to Little Huson Cave, where a creek runs through a large cavern. 

The water was very clear, and the weather turned out to be warm enough that, despite the rough road to get there, there we a lot of people swimming.

In the evening we stopped at Telegraph Cove to look around. Very picturesque and lots of history, with these old wooden structures on stills dating back to the early 1900s. We had dinner there at the Old Saltery Pub.

The next day was just a drive to Port Hardy, which is only about 30km north of Port McNeil. The ferry leaves from Port Hardy and we have to be there before 6:00am, so I wanted to stay in Port Hardy the night before. Since it was close, we still had most of the day to look around. We turned onto Highway 30 which goes west to Port Alice. On the way we stopped at the Marble River Recreation Site, where we did an 8km hike along the river. It was a mostly easy hike with view nice views of the river. 

 We drove all the way to Port Alice, which very small (one coffee shop, one restaurant) and at the end of some very steep road down to the inlet. It felt very remote.

By the end of the day we drove to Port Hardy, and checked into the nice, native-run Kwalilas Hotel. After dinner there we walked down to the water, where some teens were fishing for salmon and pulling in one after the other. 

Calgary road trip, June 2024

This year, instead of an international trip, we decided to do a couple of local road trips. The first was to Calgary, in June. I grew up in Calgary, and have not been back in many years. Also, Celene had still never done the drive through the Rockies. And I actually really like road trips.

The first day was from Vancouver to Revelstoke. We took the usual route through Hope, and up the Coquihalla Highway towards Kamloops. The town of Merritt is about half way up the Coquihalla, and instead of passing right by like we always do, we decided to stop and have look. It has a historical, kind of old west feel to it. We went into Baillie House, which is part tourist information center and part store full of knick-knacks. Kind of fun to poke around.

We continued up to Kamloops and on to Revelstoke. At Revelstoke, instead of staying in town, we stayed at the Coast Hillcrest Hotel which is up the hill off the highway east of town. Nice place with great view of Mt. Begbie. Even better, it is just a few minutes walk from Mt. Begbie Brewery. 

The next day we continued east, with a stop at a cafe in Golden for a coffee and a snack. Then continued on to Lake Louise. When I was planning the trip, I had assumed we could just stop and drive right in and have a look at Lake Louise. By chance, a couple of weeks beforehand, when visiting a friend of Celene's who was familiar with the area, he said: "so did you book the shuttle?" To which I replied "What shuttle?" That's how I found out that you really can't drive into Lake Louise any more. Just too many people. Parks Canada has a shuttle from the large parking lot at the Lake Louise ski resort, which you can book online 48 hours in advance. Fortunately I got a spot, and we were able to go to Lake Louse and Moraine Lake. This was the start of Celene's real introduction to the spectacular scenery of the Rocky Mountains. 

From there we continued straight to Canmore where we stayed at a very nice apartment from Spring Creek Vacations. 

Once we settled in, in the evening we drove to the Kananaskis area. We enjoyed the Kananaskis Nordic Spa, which was amazing with several different temperature pools, steam rooms, and saunas. Afterward had dinner in the hotel there.

The next day we spent in Banff. We had booked the Gondola for a certain arrival time. As we drove into Banff we saw that it was best to park at this huge parking lot just on the edge of town. Just too many people visiting to even think about driving into town. And this wasn't even peak season. It was a short walk to the main street, and a packed public bus ride to the Gondola. 

A short ride up the gondola and there was the fantastic scenery of the Rockies, overlooking Banff. And a couple of young bighorn sheep. 

Afterward we spent time exploring the Banff town.

Later in the day, back in Canmore, we met some very interesting people. Celene's friend Patrick, who told us about the Lake Louise shuttle, is in his 90's and had written a memoire. Since we were visiting this area, he asked if we could drop off the memoire to a couple of friends of his who live here. We all met at a pub in Canmore, and they were people who have spent their lives in the mountains. One of the friends was an expert on hydrology and consults for the UN, the other was pioneering ski and mountain guide. There was also Lynn Martel who wrote a book, 'Stories of Ice', which I bought a bookstore there and I highly recommend it.

The next day Celene wandered around the beautiful town of Canmore while I went on a hike I've wanted to do for a long time. It is the Stanley Glacier hike. Here's the story: When I was about 6 years old my parents took me on this hike. At that time the area had just been burned down by a forest fire, and I remember being fascinated as I walked through the area of charred trees. We stopped just at the tree line, from which I got my very first view of a glacier. Now, the area has a lot of new growth, but you can still see the burned logs on the ground underneath, with some charred trees still sticking up.

I walked to the tree line where I'm pretty sure we stopped before. I then kept going to the end of the loop trail. Only one side of the loop was passable because there was still too much snow. On the way I got a view of the (much smaller) glacier that I saw all those years ago.

The next day we drove the Icefield Parkway to Jasper. This must be some of the best scenery in the world, with the mountains towering on either side so that you feel like you are in the land of giants. We stopped at the Columbia Icefields.

We continued to Jasper where we stayed one night. We spent the evening looking around town and getting something to eat. Kind of surreal to think that a few weeks later, a third of the town was destroyed by wildfire, and a lot of the stores and restaurants we stopped at are no longer there.

The next day we drove from Jasper to Calgary.

We stayed for three nights with my friend Adrian, who was my neighbour during my high school years. We went over to the old houses where we used to live.

We also met up with a couple of Celene's high school friends, who moved to Calgary many years ago, and we haven't seen them in about 12 years. We met at a restaurant, and we were so busy catching up that whenever the waitress came to take our order, we still hadn't looked at the menu. 

We had a free day while in Calgary, so we drove to Drumheller. Celene has never been, and I don't think I'd been since I was a kid. 

It was very cool to see the Hoodoos and the badlands like Horseshoe Canyon again.

The next day we drove back to Vancouver, via another overnight stop in Revelstoke. On the way we stopped at Field, just inside BC. A small, historic place, where we found a nice pottery studio called Velvet Antler Pottery, where I bought a beautiful mug with a hand-engraved picture of a mountain on the side.

212 anime movies I've seen

212 Anime Movies

==================

This list of anime movies is organized into 5 major sections:

  * Ghibli-related movies

  * Directors with multiple movies

  * Movie series

  * Miscellaneous movies of personal theme

  * Miscellaneous movies of sci-fi or fantasy theme

In each section, movies are grouped by their director, and the 

groups are listed in order of the year of director's first movie.

--------------------------------------------------

My Rating of Each Movie:   (), (+), (++), (+++), or (++++)

--------------------------------------

Description           Number of movies

-----------           -----------------

() didn't like it        20

(+) ok                   58

(++) good                73

(+++) very good          44

(++++) favourite         17

============================================                  

Ghibli related

============================================      

Hayao Miyazaki

- Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979)  (++)

- Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)  (+++) 

- Castle in the Sky (1986)   (++++)

- My Neighbor Totoro (1988)   (+++)       

- Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)   (++++)     

- Porco Rosso (1992)   (++)                 

- Whisper of the Heart (1995)   (++++)

- Princess Mononoke (1997)   (+++)         

- Spirited Away (2001)   (+++)         

- Howl's Moving Castle (2004)   (+++)  

- Ponyo (2008)   (+++)              

- The Wind Rises (2013)  (++)   

- The Boy and the Heron (2023)  (+++)

Isao Takahata

- The Great Adventure of Horus, Prince of the Sun (1968)  (++)

- Grave of the Fireflies (1988)   ()    

- Only Yesterday (1991)  (+++)          

- Pom Poko (1994)    (+)       

- The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013)  (++)    

Tomomi Mochizuki

- Ocean Waves (1993)  (+)      

Horoyuki Morita

- The Cat Returns (2002)    (+++)        

Gorō Miyazaki

- Tales From Earthsea (2006)   (++)         

- From Up on Poppy Hill (2011)   (++++)  

- Earwig and the Witch (2020)  (++)     

Hiromasa Yonebayashi

- The Secret World Of Arrietty (2010)  (+++)       

- When Marnie Was There (2014)   (++++)   

- Mary and the Witch's Flower (2017)  (++)        

=======================================================

By Director

=======================================================

------------

Mamoru Oshii

------------

- Urusei Yatsura 1: Only You (1983)  ()

- Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer (1984)  ()

- Angel's Egg (1985)  (+)

- Patlabor: The Movie (1989)  (++)

- Patlabor 2: The Movie (1993)  (+)

- Ghost In The Shell (1995)   (+++)        

- Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence (2004)  (++)     

- The Sky Crawlers (2008)   (++)       

---------------

Katsuhiro Otomo

---------------

- Akira (1988)     (++)  

- Steamboy (2004)   (+)

------------------

Yoshiaki Kawajiri

------------------

- Ninja Scroll (1993)  (++)              

- Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (2000)  (++)         

------------

Satoshi Kon

------------

- Perfect Blue (1997)    (+++)            

- Millennium Actress (2001)   ()    

- Tokyo Godfathers (2003)  (+++)           

- Paprika (2006)   (++)           

----------------

Hiroyuki Okiura

----------------

- Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (1999)  (++)   

- Letter to Momo (2011)      (+++)       

--------------

Makoto Shinkai

---------------

- Voices of a Distant Star (2002)   (+++)  

- The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004)  (+++)

- 5 Centimeters per Second (2007)    (+++) 

- Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011) (+) 

- The Garden of Words (2013)    (++++)     

- Your Name (2016)   (++++)          

- Weathering With You (2019)  (++++)  

- Suzume (2022)    (++)  

------------

Mamoru Hosoda

------------

- The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)  (+++) 

- Summer Wars (2009)    (+++)          

- Wolf Children (2012)   (++)          

- The Boy and the Beast (2015)  (+++)      

- Mirai (2018)    (+)       

- Belle (2021)    (++++)                   

-----------------

Yasuhiro Yoshiura

-----------------

- Pale Cocoon (2006)   (+++)        

- Time of Eve (2010)    (++++)       

- Patema Inverted (2013)   (+++)     

- Harmonie (2014)  (++) 

- Sing a Bit of Harmony (2021)  (++)

------------

Keiichi Hara

------------

- Summer Days With Coo (2007)  (++)     

- Colorful (2010)       (++++)        

- Miss Hokusai (2016)     (+) 

- The Wonderland (2019)  (++)  

- Lonely Castle in the Mirror (2023) (+++)     

-------------

Naoko Yamada

-------------

- K-On! The Movie  (2011)    (+++)  

- Tamako Love Story (2014)   (++)

- A Silent Voice (2016)    (++++)          

- Liz and the Blue Bird (2018)   (+++)   

- The Colors Within (2025)  (+++)    

-------------------

Tatsuyuki Nagai

-------------------

- Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day The Movie  (2013)  (+) 

- Anthem of the Heart (2015)    (++++)   

- Her Blue Sky (2019)    (+++)           

-------------------

Takuya Satou

-------------------

- Steins;Gate: The Movie − Load Region of Déjà Vu (2013)  (+)  

- Fragtime (2019)   ()

-------------

Masaaki Yuasa

-------------

- Night Is Short, Walk On Girl (2017)   (+)    

- Lu Over the Wall (2017)  (+++)

- Ride Your Wave (2019)   (++)     

- Inu-Oh (2021)    (+) 

--------------

Atsuko Ishizuka

--------------

- No Game, No Life Zero (2017)    ()  

- Goodbye, Don Glees! (2022)      ()

---------------

Hiroyasu Ishida

---------------

- Penguin Highway (2018)    (+++)    

- Drifting Home (2022)    (+)

---------------

Mari Okada

---------------

- Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms (2018)  ()   

- Maboroshi (2024)         (+)        

---------------

Ayumu Watanabe

--------------

- Children of the Sea (2019)  ()

- Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko  (2021)  (++)

---------------

Kyohei Ishiguro

---------------

- Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop (2021)   (++++)     

- Bright: Samurai Soul (2021)    (+)  

=======================================================

Movie Series

=======================================================

------------

Lupin

-------------

Sōji Yoshikawa

- Lupin III: The Secret of Mamo (1978)  ()

Seijun Suzuki and Shigetsugu Yoshida

- Lupin III: The Legend of the Gold of Babylon (1985)  ()

Masayuki Ozeki

- Lupin III: The Fuma Conspiracy (1987)  (+)

Masaaki Osumi

- Lupin III: Voyage to Danger (1993)   (++)

Shunya Itō and Takeshi Shirato

- Lupin III: Farewell to Nostradamus (1995)  (++)

Monkey Punch

- Lupin III: Dead or Alive (1996)   (+)  

Hiroyuki Yano

- Lupin III: Island of Assassins (1997)  (+)   

Toshiya Shinohara

- Lupin III: Crisis in Tokyo (1998)   (++)    

Hideki Tonokatsu

- Lupin III: Alcatraz Connection (2001)  (+)

Minoru Ouhara

- Lupin III: Episode 0 The First Contact (2002)  (++)   

--------------------------------------

Mobile Suit Gundam

--------------------------------------

Yoshiyuki Tomino, Yoshikazu Yasuhiko

- Mobile Suit Gundam I  (1981)    (+)

- Mobile Suit Gundam II  (1981)   (++)

- Mobile Suit Gundam III  (1981)  (+)

Yoshiyuki Tomino

- Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counter Attack (1988)  (+)

Murase Shuukou

- Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway (2021)  (+)

---------------------

Evangelion

---------------------

Hideaki Anno

- Evengelion: Death(True)2  (1997)  ()   

- The End of Evangelion (1997)     ()     

----------------

Inuyasha 

----------------

Toshiya Shinohara

- Inuyasha the Movie: Affections Touching Across Time (2001)  (+)

- Inuyasha the Movie: The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass (2002)  (+)

- Inuyasha the Movie: Swords of an Honorable Ruler (2003)   (+)

- Inuyasha the Movie: Fire on the Mystic Island (2004)  (+) 

---------------

Naruto

---------------

Tensai Okamura

- Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow (2004)  (+) 

Hirotsugu Kawasaki

- Legend of the Stone of Gelel (2005)  (+)

Toshiyuki Tsuru

- Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom (2006)  (+)

Hajime Kamegaki

- Naruto Shippuden the Movie (2007)   (+)

- Naruto Shippuden the Movie: Bonds (2008)  (+)

Masahiko Murata

- Naruto Shippuden the Movie: The Will of Fire (2009)  (+)

- Naruto Shippuden the Movie: The Lost Tower (2010)  (+)

- Naruto Shippuden the Movie: Blood Prison (2011)  (+)

Hayato Date

- Naruto Shippuden the Movie: Road to Ninja (2012)   (+)

Tsuneo Kobayashi

- The Last: Naruto the Movie (2014)   (+)

Hiroyuki Yamashita

- Boruto: Naruto the Movie (2015)  (+)

----------------

Appleseed

----------------

Shinji Aramaki

- Appleseed (2004)    (++)      

- Appleseed Ex Machina (2007)  (++)     

- Appleseed Alpha (2014)   (+)       

------------------------------------

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

------------------------------------------

Kenji Kamiyama

- Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - The Laughing Man (2005) (++)

- Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Individual Eleven (2005) (++)

- Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society (2006) (++)   

Kenji Kamiyama, Shinji Aramaki, Michihito Fujii

- Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2045 Sustainable War (2022) (+)

----------------

Bleach

----------------

Noriyuki Abe

- Bleach: Memories of Nobody (2006)    (+)     

- Bleach: The Diamond Dust Rebellion (2007)   (+)  

- Bleach: Fade to Black (2008)   (+)         

- Bleach: Hell Verse (2010)   (+)       

----------------

Berserk

----------------

Toshiyuki Kubooka

- Berserk: Golden Age Arc I - The Egg of the King (2012)  ()

- Berserk: Golden Age Arc II - The Battle for Doldrey (2012)  ()

- Berserk: Golden Age Arc III - The Advent (2013)    ()    

----------------------

Ghost in the Shell Arise

----------------------

Kazuchika Kise

- Ghost in the Shell Arise: Border 1 - Ghost Pain (2013)    (+)

- Ghost in the Shell Arise: Border 2 - Ghost Whispers (2013)  (+)

- Ghost in the Shell Arise: Border 3 - Ghost Tears (2014)   (+)

- Ghost in the Shell Arise: Border 4 - Ghost Stands Alone (2014) (+)

Kazuya Nomura

- Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie (2015)  (+)

---------------------

Mushishi

---------------------

Hiroshi Nagahama

- Mushishi: The Shadow That Devours the Sun (2014)  (+++)

- Mushishi: Path of Thorns (2014)   (+++)

- Mushishi: Drops of Bells (2015)   (+++)

--------------------

Psycho-Pass

--------------------

Katsuyuki Motohiro and Naoyoshi Shiotani

- Psycho-Pass: The Movie (2015)   (++)

Naoyoshi Shiotani

- Sinners of the System Case 1: Crime and Punishment (2019) (++)

- Sinners of the System Case 2: First Guardian (2019)   (++)

- Sinners of the System  Case 3: In the Realm Beyond (2019) (++)

- Psycho-Pass: First Inspector (2020) (++)

- Psycho-Pass Movie: Providence (2023) (++)

---------------

Godzilla

---------------

Hiroyuki Seshita, Kobun Shizuno

- Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters (2017)   (++)

- Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle (2018)  (++)

- Godzilla: The Planet Eater (2018)  (++)

------------------

The Seven Deadly Sins

------------------

Noriyuki Abe 

- The Seven Deadly Sins the Movie: Prisoners of the Sky (2018)  (++) 

Takayuki Hamana

- The Seven Deadly Sins: Cursed by Light (2021)  ()

------------------

Violet Evergarden

------------------

Haruka Fujita

- Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll (2019)  (+)  

Taichi Ishidate

- Violet Evergarden the Movie (2020)  (++)

========================================

Personal Theme

========================================

Osamu Dezaki

- Clannad Movie  (2007)  (+)

Kunio Kato

- The House of Small Cubes (2008) (++)

Takahiro Omori

- Into the Forest of Fireflies Light (2011)    (++++)   

Hiroyasu Ishida

- Sonny Boy & Dewdrop Girl (Hinata no aoshigure) (2013) (+++)

Shunji Iwai

- The Case of Hana & Alice (2015)   (++)        

Sunao Katabuchi

- In This Corner Of The World (2016)   (++)     

Tesuya Yanagisawa

- I've always liked you (2016)  (++)

Yoshitaka Takeuchi

- Flavors of Youth: International version (2018)  (++)   

Shinichirou Ushijima

- I Want to Eat Your Pancreas (2018)   (++)

Kitaro Kosaka

- Okko's Inn (2018)   (+++)              

Kenji Iwaisawa

- On-Gaku: Our Sound (2020)  (++) 

Kotaro Tamura

- Josee, the Tiger and the Fish (2020)   (+++)

Hiroaki Akagi

- Teasing Master Takagi-san (2022)    (++)

Masaki Tachibana

- Blue Thermal (2022)    (++)

Yuzuru Tachikawa

- Blue Giant (2023)   (++++)

Kiyotaka Oshiyama

- Look Back (2024)   (+++)

=========================================

Sci-Fi / Fantasy Theme

=========================================

Eiichi Yamamoto

- Belladonna of Sadness (1973)   ()

Toyoo Ashida

- Vampire Hunter D (1985)   (+)             

Hiroyuki Kitakubo

- Blood: The Last Vampire (2000)   (+)  

Rintaro

- Metropolis  (2001)  (+++) 

Shinichirou Watanabe

- Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2001)  (++)

Tomoki Kyoda

- RahXephon: Pluralitas Concentio (2003)  ()  

Annou Takashi 

- Hotori: Tada Saiwai wo Koinegau (I Only Want Happiness)(2005)  (+++)

Keiichi Sugiyama

- Origin: Spirits of the Past (2006)   (+++)     

Masahiro Andou

- Sword Of The Stranger (2007)    (++)   

Takeshi Koike

- Redline (2009)   (++)

Koji Masunari

- Welcome to the Space Show (2010)   (+)

Ryoutarou Makihara

- Hal (2013)     (+++)      

Seiji Mizushima

- Expelled from Paradise (2014)   (++)        

Naoyuki Onda

- Black Nest - Chronus (2014)  (++) 

Takashi Nakamura

- Harmony (2015)    (++)         

Keiichi Sato

- Gantz:0 (2016)    (++)        

Masashi Ishihama

- Garakowa: Restore the World (2016)       (+)     

Hitoshi Namba

- Fate/Grand Order: First Order (2016)    ()      

Akiyuki Shinbo

- Fireworks (2017)    (+++)               

Hiroyuki Seshita

- Blame! (2017)   (++)        

Kenji Kamiyama

- Napping Princess (2017)     (+++)                               

Yoshiyuki Momose

- Ninokuni The Movie  (2019)   (++)      

Tomohiko Ito

- Hello World (2019)    (++)      

Takeru Nakajima, Yoshiyuki Okada

- Altered Carbon: Resleeved (2020)     (++)     

Junichi Sato

- A Whisker Away (2020)   (+)  

Yoshinobu Sena

- Over the Sky (You Are Beyond) (2020) (+)

Yusuke Hirota

- Poupelle of Chimney Town (2020)  (+++)

Sunghoo Park

- Jujutsu Kaisen 0    (2021)    (+)

Takana Shirai, Toshinari Shinohe 

- Child of Kamiari Month (2021)   (++) 

Shinya Kawatsura

- House of the Lost on the Cape (2021)  (++)

Masashi Ando and Masayuki Miyaji

- The Deer King (2021)        (++)

loundraw

- Summer Ghost (2021)   (++++)

Takayuki Hirao

- Pompo: The Cinephile (2022)   (+++)

Tetsuro Araki

- Bubble (2022)         (++)  

Tomohisa Taguchi

- The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbye (2022) (++)

Yūtarō Kubo, Satomi Maiya

- The Girl From the Other Side (2022)    (++)

Tomotaka Shibayama

- My Oni Girl (2024)   (++)

========================

Rome - St. Peters

Got up early to try get to St. Peters Basilica before the line got too bad. We took the bus number 115, that went up a hill with a great view of the city.  We arrived at St. Peter's and the line was already very long, but we were early enough that a lot of it was in shade and it moved very quickly.

In less than an hour we were in the huge space inside St. Peters. First stop on the right was Michaelangelo's magical Pieta.

Walked down the length of the basilica, each side chapel the size of a cathedral. There is a huge 4 post alter over the entrance to St. Peter's tomb in the middle.

At the very end, where there was another alter, priests were entering in a line as a mass was starting.

Back up the other side, looking in the side chapels. just trying to capture the immense scale of the place.

Incredible mosaics. All along both sides there are statues and tombs of popes.

Up the river in the general direction of Trastevere, looking for a shopping area but Google maps was not useful. At the pedestrian bridge that goes to the centre of Trastevere, but turned in direction toward town to see what we could find. Turns out there was a large market, Campo de Fiori, with a food market in a plaza, and shops all around.

Back to Trastevere for dinner, and then back to the hotel to back for the flight the next day.

Rome - Colosseum

We had booking for a tour of the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palantine Hill, and had to be there by 9:00. We got on a bus briefly but weren't sure if it would go to the right place, or on time. Got off and walked and ran to the metro station where the meeting point was supposed to be. Someone directed us to the point for our tour company. It was very hot in Rome, 30 degrees and intense sun, so we were already drenched in sweat. We waited in the shade to cool off a bit while the tour group gathered.

It was a small group and the guide was nice but had a heavy accent. We entered colosseum, learned about the sails over the open top that provided shade, which were controlled manually by ropes to account for wind. The colosseum structure has 3 layers, like concentric ellipses. On one side the outer layers are missing due to earthquake. The construction had large stone blocks, with balls of metal between the blocks to provide flexibility in an earthquake. In many places they are covered with bricks for smoother surface.

One side of the colosseum had an entrance of emperor, another for the Vestal Virgins. There were 55000 seats for citizens, the rest standing. Over the gates are numbers, and there were terracota and bronze tickets for different classes of people entering.

Originally there was a wooden floor with gates for animals and fighters. It could also be flooded and drained in real time for boat battles.

Population of Rome was 1 million at its peak, but was down to 20,000 in Middle Ages. At that time people lived in the colosseum and used it as fortress. There was a church built inside.

From the colosseum there views of the ruins of the temple of Venus and Rome

and the gate of Constantine.

The tour then went past the forum, up Palantine Hill. This was the location of the original settlement of Rome, and then the location of the Emperors place. The palace was destroyed by the great fire of Rome in 64 AD, and then the Emperor Nero built a huge place in it's place. 

We then headed down to the forum, passing the Arch of Titus.

Then past the huge Basilica of Maxentius.

Then around a corner to a row of statues which was part of the temple of the Vestal Virgins.

Then into the main part of the forum, the procession area, with the ruins of various temples, and the ruins of the main government to one side. 

After the tour, we cross the main road at the side of the forum, and up a side street for lunch. Walked over to the main tourist area, near the Trevi fountain where we were before. Bought a bottle of limoncello. Then down the main shopping street of via del Corso, where I bought a jacket.

Walked back to hotel. On the way crossed a 2000 year old bridge over part of the Tiber river.

 After resting and getting cleaned up we walked further down street to great little restaurant called Matto (fool in Italian) for very good dinner with dessert and a great server.